Upstairs girls : prostitution in the American West

Part I. The bawdy women of the West: an inside look at the world's oldest profession

What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?: why women joined the Sisterhood

The world's oldest profession thrives in the West: the Sisterhood, from parlor girls to street walkers

Shady ladies on the move: railroads, mining camps, and military posts

The Chinese sex trade: little more than slaves

The madams: hearts of gold, knuckles of brass

Occupational hazards: physical abuse, pregnancy, addiction, and venereal disease

Part II. The other Western women: the dancers and the reformers

The dancing girls: hurdy gurdy, dancehall, and saloon girls

The moral purity movement: patrolling the borders of decency

Part III. Profiles on prostitutes: the ladies of the night

Fanny Porter: the madam with a heart of gold

Julia Bulette: the Comstock courtesan

Laura Bullion: Wild Bunch camp follower

Ah Toy: a "daughter of joy" on the Barbary Coast

Mattie Silks: the queen of the Denver red light district

Annie Rogers: a soiled dove living the high life with Kid Curry

Big Nose Kate: life on her own terms

Calamity Jane: Martha Jane in jeans

Poker Alice: a gambler, a madam, a bootlegger

Pearl Starr: prostitute daughter of Belle Starr

"Chicago Joe" Hensley: the Irish madam

Mary Ellen "Mammy" Pleasant: mother of civil rights, and a California madam

Rosa May: a working girl until the end

Madame Moustache: the gambling madam

Creative professional names